Clean Cut
by panda-tiney
Summary: A curse was set upon Akane, at least that was what she thought, as everyone around turned on her. Set some years later, Akane Tendo learns to forget, but I bet you know just who's gonna mess it all up. With a worldwide bounty on her head Akane gives up.
1. Take Flight

Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½, Rumiko Takahashi and whoever she decides to sell the rights to do.  
  
A/N: So this is my new fic and I really hope you like it! Please review! If you want to email me you can at panda_tiney@hotmail.com Thanks for reading!  
  
***  
  
Cause everyone here  
  
Hates everyone here for doing just like they do  
  
And it's best if we all keep this quiet instead  
  
And I couldn't tell  
  
Why everyone here was doing me like they do  
  
But I'm sorry now, and I don't know how  
  
To get it back to good  
  
--Back to Good by Matchbox 20  
  
***  
  
Dear Dr. Sing,  
  
People always start things oddly; at least that's what I perceive. They always start "on one fine day" or "on one scary, dark night" but I've always liked to make something else up at the start of a story. So here it goes. . .  
  
My name is Akane Tendo and I am supposed to start this off telling you about myself. Okay, well, I'm twenty and living by myself in a small apartment in the heart of the city. New York isn't as bad as people say, when you come from a dojo in Japan it's different but that just makes it more exciting. I don't know if I'd still be here if it wasn't different.  
  
My life was crazy there in Nerima, with a capital "C". When walls weren't being broken down in fights people were holding vast competitions. Basically, if you're not strong enough in that town you don't survive. Now don't think I didn't love living there as a kid and terribly miss it because I do . . . more than anything . . . You're probably wondering, "then why move here?" and if you are I hope you've been reading. What I said before was true, you have to be strong to survive and I just wasn't strong enough.  
  
I had a fiancé back then too, Ranma Saotome. A real smart ass with big muscles, a big ego and an even bigger mouth. He was sweet sometimes though, when the moment rose. We're not engaged anymore though, it was done at birth, an arranged marriage, I heard those never work out anyway. Just after I graduated some stuff happened, words were exchanged and things got heavy. Things had always been somewhat dark there, people had to go through a lot, but they had never been this melancholy.  
  
You know that feeling you get when you think no one wants you around, paranoia, I had that except my paranoia could be justified. Everyone just turned on me one day, even my family and friends! I suppose every family gets in fights and don't think I over reacted, things got out of control. I had a few serious death threats but that didn't stop me; I was determined to figure out what was going on. Then the one person I thought would always be on my side turned on me, told me things I never imagined he would say, told me to leave forever and never come back, so I did. I took the cash they offered me to get me out of town and came here. I don't know what drew me here but I always loved the adventure of a new country, a new continent. Plus, so many American shows have people starting new lives here and I guess that's what I did, I started a new life. I didn't change my name or anything like that but I feel different now, like I'm not the over reactant girl from Nerima but the successful business women from New York City.  
  
I'm sorry I couldn't make it to our session today but I had an apartment that people haven't been interested in for awhile and then out of the blue someone phoned, practically handing me the money for the place. I told them I at least had to give them a tour of the apartment and they agreed but today was their only free day. I'm excited to meet you and I think it was a good idea one of my friends told me about you. I'm really hoping I can learn a little more about me and maybe about what I really want in life. Don't get me wrong, selling real estate is exciting, the thrill after a sale is invigorating . . . it's just, I don't think I was put here for this purpose. If you could just call me and set up another appointment that would be great.  
  
I guess I should tell you about my childhood and all. Well, my father and mother had three children before she died when I was still young. My two sisters Nabiki and Kasumi are both older than me and my father is yet to be remarried. I don't think he will ever find anyone as special as my mother was and I know he would go for no less. Yet, he is hopefully content, my sisters too and all of Nerima for that matter. I haven't talked to anyone there for three years now, what they said was quite harsh and I'll go into detail in person I guess. I hope I don't become one of those patients that talks on and on then cries and cries so that they will go through two boxes of Kleenex every session so stop me if I do.  
  
I suppose I shouldn't just be sending you a letter with all my information and such in it but I am in a writing mood and I can not stop this pen from scrolling down every detail on my mind. I feel somewhat ignorant and rude talking about myself this whole letter, do I sound stuck up? I really doubt I am, ask my friends, they'll tell you the truth. In fact, some of them are painfully obvious sometimes but I know that I wouldn't have them any other way! I've made many friends here and I'm positive I would not be living without them, they are my family now and I am so thankful I have them. American girls can be quite funny sometimes, they're insanely different and yet similar in more ways than one to the people back in my home town. I guess it's not my town anymore, it was never really mine but I guess you have to live there for you to own it. New York, I suppose, is my home town now and I enjoy every minute I spend here!  
  
I've got to go but I can't wait until our first appointment! Thank you for taking time to read this and I hope it helps.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Akane Tendo  
  
***  
  
Three Years Before  
  
"So, does this make any sense at all? I mean, I might sound dumb but wouldn't a spell or something make sense?" Akane asked pleadingly.  
  
"No, we'd notice if ya became that annoying." Ranma quipped as he stood in front of Akane on the deserted street next to a large tree, shielding them from the rain.  
  
"B-b-but . . . my dad, Kasumi, they've never been this hateful! Not to mention every other person in Nerima!" Akane spat as tears came streaming from her eyes. Ranma lifted his hand and slowly, with much difficulty, pulled Akane into him by the waist and hugged her.  
  
"Not everybody." He whispered into her ear. This made her cry even harder and she dug herself into his shirt and pulled her face into his chest getting his shirt soaked.  
  
"It feels good not being alone." Akane said through gasps of air between spouts of tears. Ranma laughed and stared up at the dark, gloomy sky.  
  
"You'll never be alone with me here, ya got that?" He said pulling her chin gently up to eye level. He stared into her great big eyes, puffy and red, and smiled.  
  
"It's not going to stop the pain . . . but going it alone would be really scary. So I suppose just the two of us against the entire town would be alright." Akane said sniffling.  
  
"It's when I start to be a jerk that you've gotta start worryin'." Ranma joked into her ear as he pulled her closer again. She chuckled but stayed silent.  
  
"How will I ever tell the difference?" Akane asked, laughing lightly. Ranma smiled but then his face went mock serious.  
  
"I don't have a clue. I guess we're doomed then, we should just give up." Ranma joked and Akane punched him playfully.  
  
Suddenly a blue-grey mist came around them and pushed the leaves on the tree so they let go of all the rain they held and Ranma and Akane were sprayed with the water. Akane laughed and Ranma smirked as Akane took his hand and pulled him onto the road. He came stubbornly and stalled for a few seconds, staring at her. She looked back confused and Ranma's face immediately changed to a soft smile.  
  
"C'mon, I wanna take ya somewhere." Ranma said mysteriously.  
  
"Ooh, sounds interesting." Akane replied coyly.  
  
He nodded and grabbed her hand, started to run and pulled up to a bus stop.  
  
"Wait here for a sec 'kay? I gotta use the phone." Ranma said, still smiling but it somehow looked strained.  
  
"Alright . . ." Akane said unsure of what exactly was going on.  
  
Akane watched two little kids run by and she smiled. They looked up at her and stuck out their tongues in disgust. Akane doubled back at the hatred in their eyes and bowed her head. She wondered if she was just a jerk and maybe people were just starting to believe that. So many thoughts swept Akane onto the bus bench and into a state of depression for a second. There was just no point, she was so confused, but she had to remember she had Ranma and that was all that mattered. Not everyone hated her and that was the bottom line, he could take her away and they could live happily ever after.  
  
Ranma came back sighing heavily, he looked suddenly tired beyond belief and Akane hugged him again. Every time she was in his arms it felt as if everything was okay, that nothing was sad, there was nothing else, just Ranma's arms, the rest of him and her.  
  
The bus came shortly after and Ranma held out his hand directing her onto the bus. She nodded and got on, still wondering where he would take her. Ranma paid for both of them and they sat down. Akane stared at Ranma, staring out his window, lost in thought.  
  
"Wow Ranma, this is one of the first times you've actually looked like you were thinking." Akane teased.  
  
"Uh, could ya just keep quiet for a sec, I've got some stuff I need to sort out." Ranma said sternly.  
  
"Oookay, I'm sorry." Akane said staring out into the aisle sadly.  
  
"Listen, it's not you . . . I'm just tired 'kay?" Ranma said putting his arm around Akane and smiling.  
  
"Alright, I'll keep quiet for a bit, but this is the only time." Akane said forgivingly.  
  
"Thanks." Ranma said shifting back to his spot staring out the window.  
  
The rest of the trip went basically the same, no one talked and the sound of the rain pit patting on the roof was welcome noise compared to the deafening silence of the two. The bus creaked to a stop and everyone started to get off. Ranma and Akane were the last people out as Ranma gently nudged Akane into consciousness after a troubled sleep.  
  
"Are we there yet?" Akane asked coming out of her comatose state and back into the rainy night.  
  
"Uh . . . ya, ya we are." Ranma said stuttering, his voice cracking. He sounded almost as if he were on the verge of tears.  
  
Ranma stepped behind Akane and put a blindfold around her eyes and tied a tight bow at the back. "Remember, it's a secret." He whispered by her neck making her hairs stand on end.  
  
Akane nodded and laughed as he took her hand and walked her through different passages and hallways and up a few stairs. She heard the bustling of a few people and smirked. 'I could be at the mall,' she thought, 'or somewhere else. I always walked to the mall . . .'  
  
"So it's all set?" She heard Ranma mumble in a hushed voice.  
  
"Yes Sir, but you'll have to hurry. There's not much time until-" At this point the other voice stopped and Ranma cut in.  
  
"Ya, I get it. Thanks." She heard his voice quickly say.  
  
He brought her over to what felt like a bunch of seats in a row and sat her down. He took the blindfold off and Akane eagerly took in her surroundings. There were three little boys dragging sleepily behind their mother and a few other people going through the gate in front of her. She easily knew where she was.  
  
"Ranma, why did you take me to an airport?" Akane asked questionably.  
  
"Well, I phoned your dad and he set up the ticket. It won't be that long of a flight, it'll feel like nothin'." Ranma said not staring into Akane's eyes but outside the big windows at the rain laden plane.  
  
"What?" Akane asked, her defenses rising and her eyes starting to swell with tears. She could not understand what he was talking about her dad getting he a ticket. Ranma had just said she'd have him forever.  
  
"Listen, I've been thinkin' 'bout how I'd put this. You're plane's leavin' and we've gotta make this quick. Your dad told me he wired you money and the attendant would give it to you, don't cry please, don't make it hard." Ranma said staring down at the floor.  
  
"But you said you and I would make it, we'd fight." Akane questioned while laughing lightly. She tried to hold back the tears but they came and rolled down her cheeks anyway.  
  
"It's just best this way, your flights leavin' now." Ranma said nodding towards the gate.  
  
"But I don't want to go. I'm staying here, where I thought you would be by my side, on my side. What is going on?" Akane asked, at the end screaming out. A few people stared and Ranma almost went red with embarrassment.  
  
"Last call for Plane 106 to Kyoto, final boarding. Thank you." A loud voice said over the P.A.  
  
"Listen! You're dumb, crazy and mean. Nobody wants you here, everybody wants ya gone. Take a hint! Leave now and never, ever come back!" Ranma yelled, pointing to the gates.  
  
The only thing that Akane could think would explain his words would be the spell had gotten him too. If there was a spell then Akane couldn't change it back, it would just be a matter of time before she'd get threats, maybe from Ranma, she'd rather leave than face that.  
  
Ranma's hand was shaking but it held as he pointed to the gate. Akane nodded, tears flying, and walked up to the gate.  
  
The attendant smiled warmly and passed her the ticket Ranma had given the attendant before, "Welcome and goodbye, I hope you have a wonderful trip!"  
  
"Something tells me it's gonna be bumpy." Akane mumbled under her breath.  
  
"Oh no dear, the skies are clear once this rain lets up. Forecasts say it'll be gone quite soon!" The attendant said happily.  
  
"I wasn't talking about the flight." Akane whispered. She walked past the attendant, unable to think of the right thing to say to the poor girl.  
  
Akane wanted to look back, run back, jump back but kept walking. If they wanted her gone then that's what they'd get. She didn't need Ranma and his mood swings or anybody else! She was going to become rich and successful and forget all the small people in Nerima, hell bent on destroying her. She would be strong.  
  
'Some day lying to myself isn't going to cut it,' She thought, drifting into the crowd of people boarding the plane, 'I just have to be strong and start to forget, that's all I need, all I'll ever need.'  
  
Meanwhile, Ranma strolled over to the window and rested his head on the cool glass, closing his eyes and wondering if what he did was right, "It's too dangerous here Akane. I'm sorry I had to yell but I wanted you to hate me when you left, then maybe it'll be easier for both of us to go on doin' what we do. I'll figure out this mess of a spell," Ranma yawned and kept talking lowly, "and when I fix it I'll come and get ya. You've gotta know the hardest thing I ever did was lie to ya just now, you've gotta know I'm on your side, and one day . . . you will."  
  
A/N: Don't be mad at anybody because things will be explained in the second chapter! Her plane goes to Kyoto but she doesn't stay there obviously. I've got a vague idea where this is headed but I'm totally open to suggestions! If you think something doesn't fit tell me and I'll rewrite it in a jiffy! Please review or I might forget to write the next chapter! Next chapter hopefully up soon! 


	2. One Track Mind

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma, Rumiko Takahashi and whoever she decides to sell the rights to does.  
  
A/N: So, I used another Matchbox 20 song for the quote. Sorry but it worked really well; maybe I'll do them all Matchbox 20. What do you guys think of that? I thought the first part could be Akane and the second part could be Ranma or something like that. If you want to email me you can at tiney_panda@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading!  
  
***  
  
It's amazing  
  
How you make your face just like a wall  
  
How you take your heart and turn it off  
  
How I turn my head and lose it all  
  
It's unnerving  
  
How just one move puts me by myself  
  
There you go just trusting someone else  
  
Now I know I put us both through hell  
  
--'Leave' by Matchbox 20  
  
***  
  
Akane sighed as she felt the cool wood of her door behind her; as she let herself fall back she closed her eyes and let her memories take over.  
  
"It feels good not being alone." Akane said through gasps of air between spouts of tears. Ranma laughed and stared up at the dark, gloomy sky.  
  
"You'll never be alone with me here, ya got that?" He said pulling her chin gently up to eye level. He stared into her great big eyes, puffy and red, and smiled.  
  
"It's not going to stop the pain . . . but going at it alone would be really scary. So I suppose just the two of us against the entire town would be all right." Akane said sniffling.  
  
***  
  
Akane snapped out of her daydream and stared at the floor. The shadows of her plant sprawled across the floor looked massive. She walked over and picked up the tiny water jug and brought it to the sink.  
  
"Well, I had a very interesting day today Oren. I sold an apartment that nobody liked for a decent price! I am the real estate queen," Akane went rambling on as she filled the tiny jug and sprayed the small plant, "and you can be my real estate king. How would ya like that? Don't like the spotlight? Naw, neither do I. I'm gonna go now alright? You be good, don't move." Akane pointed a finger at the plant and raised her eyebrow in suspicion. She burst into laughter after a second and walked out the door, grabbing her purse as she left.  
  
"Aww I'm nuts," Akane told herself while locking the door, "I'm talking to a plant. Not just talking, no, I'm having a full out conversation. Better yet, I'm talking to my self as well. Might as well send me off to the funny farm right now!" She chuckled and walked down the cement stairs to the lobby and was just about out the door when someone grabbed her wrist and swung her around.  
  
"You will NEVER believe who I just talked to! The most gorgeous, wonderful man who ever lived!" A woman chirped as her hair bounced off her pale shoulders and back into its tight, red curls. She was Akane's age with hazel eyes and eyebrows that started thick and ended paper thin. She kept chattering as Akane tried to calm her down and understand what exactly was going on.  
  
"Indie! Calm down or you'll lose your voice and not be able to tell me about your excellent date with your wonderful hunk." Akane said smiling brilliantly. Immediately Indie quieted down and grabbed Akane's hands in hers.  
  
"He is so sweet, he made me dinner and homemade ice cream afterwards just because I mentioned once at work that only homemade was good enough for me. He told me he hoped the ice cream and he would satisfy me! I feel like singing the love boat theme song," At this point Indie started to dance around and twirl as Akane just nodded and smiled along with her.  
  
"Just make sure he isn't like the dream boat last week that stole your wallet and left you in the park." Akane pointed out to her love struck friend. She seemed like a nice girl but when it came to guys she wasn't the best at judging. She once voted as a judge in the school talent show and chose the kid who tied his shoe a different way because "it was original and insane."  
  
Akane had moved in with Indie about two weeks prior finding the girl, desperate for a roommate, and best friends with one of Akane's good friends.  
  
"Oh poor, skeptical Akane, always the one to think and never to act!" Indie noted as she picked up her two bags full of what looked to be vegetables and turned to the stairs, "you'll never fall in love with that attitude!"  
  
"Not all of us can just jump out of it." Akane mumbled under her breath.  
  
"What?" Indie asked sweetly.  
  
"I was just noticing all the produce. You gonna get your cookin' on tonight?" Akane joked.  
  
"Hell yes! After last night I have to out cook him to show how wonderful I am. I might need a little help though, I can't tell the difference between red cabbage and radissi." She hinted.  
  
"You mean radicci." Akane said, still smiling.  
  
"Yeah, they're all the same." She said lightly.  
  
"I wouldn't let me near it if I were you. I can help with directions and ingredients and stuff though." Akane said hopefully.  
  
"Don't be so modest Akane, you know you're a kick ass cook! So what if you can't do some stuff. I know I haven't known you for too long but I DO know you make one mean omelette!" Indie said.  
  
"Thanks. I gotta go but I'll be back soon alright?" Akane asked Indie as she walked out the door.  
  
"Alright roomie but be back to help, please! And would you mind goin' out tonight? Me and my guy are gonna want some alone time." Indie asked innocently.  
  
"Sure, I can sleepover at Tara's so you'll have a bunch of alone time." Akane said mock romantically.  
  
"He told me he wasn't afraid to cry in front of me and he is like, the strongest guy in the world!" Indie said, bragging on about her new man.  
  
"Oh I doubt he's the strongest." Akane said sweetly.  
  
"Oh yeah, the people from your town were into martial arts and stuff. Did you ever do that stuff Akane?" Indie inquired.  
  
"Uh . . ." Akane trailed off.  
  
"Of course you didn't! It's not like you." Indie said kindly, "you're more of a 'let's-talk-things-over' type person."  
  
"Yep," Akane said hesitantly, "that's me!" Her fake smile was starting to hurt it was so big, but Indie didn't notice.  
  
"So, be back at six?" She asked.  
  
"Sure, see you then . . . you nutcase." Akane said under her breath, waving as she ran out the door and into the busy street. She checked her watch, it was five seventeen. She didn't have that much time so she just decided to go for a walk. She didn't want to get back early in fear of having Indie tell her all about how Akane "really" was.  
  
The trees were brown, almost all the leaves had fallen off and they now cluttered the streets and grasped onto people's shoes to be carried off into warm homes or offices. Akane tugged on her jean jacket and wrapped her hands into her warm scarf. She liked all the different colors, the different shades. It made her think of all the different people, all the different attitudes, all the different feelings that shaped everyone.  
  
She hadn't heard a word from Nerima for three years now and yet it was always on her mind, the people, faces, the crazy situations that could easily land a normal person dead, but Akane would fly by them. It struck her as odd that the things she thought were so venerable, the people not the situations, had made her leave. She'd given up her theory of a spell a while back. Those always seemed to mess up and, hard as she tried, she didn't think they would ever get that far.  
  
The good things, the ones people say are the best, she remembered, just a little bit. The things that stayed and stung were all the painful things, not the everyday fights but the things that mattered. The fact that she had no mother, that the one person she almost confessed she had feelings for turned on her, the fact that she couldn't forget.  
  
"Hey girlie! Watch it!" Someone yelled as she bumped into them.  
  
"Sorry." She muttered and kept walking. She stopped to look back and give a better apology but the person was gone. She stared down and breathed out watching her breath rise, her gaze traveled up to the building, her building.  
  
"Home, sweet home." She said, a smile returning to her face.  
  
"Evening Akane." The doorman said kindly. The old man smiled and creased up his face in an old, droopy looking smile. Akane nodded and smiled at the old man.  
  
"Hello to you too, Mr. Barnaby." Akane said politely.  
  
"Akane! Have you been crying?" The old man asked worriedly.  
  
"No, I don't think-" Akane stopped as she held a hand up to her wet face, "it's just the cold, my eyes get all watery in the cold." The old man nodded, but the worried expression did not leave his face.  
  
Akane waved goodbye and trudged up the steps to her apartment. As she got there she noticed a horrible smell in the air and opened her door only to have a huge wave of it hit her face.  
  
"What IS that?" Akane asked, coughing and waving her hand in front of her face, trying to bat away the horrible stench.  
  
"It's my vegetable stew, homemade!" Indie said proudly.  
  
"Wow." Akane said nicely.  
  
"Ugh, you don't have to be nice, it's crap, but it's my crap, homemade. What am I gonna do? I told him he could come over early when he phoned about half an hour ago. I didn't know what to say, he'd think I wasn't ready if I said no." Indie told Akane, mittens covered with green food coloring, holding up a rubber chicken.  
  
"But you aren't." Akane explained.  
  
"Shut up!" Indie told her sneering. They both laughed and Akane put on an apron and took the mitts.  
  
"Alright, you go get ready and I'll fix this." Akane told her flabbergasted friend. Akane saw her shoulders fall in relief as she said this.  
  
"Thank you, thank you so much! I owe you big time alright? I'll buy you a cake! And I won't touch it so it'll still be edible!" Indie suggested sweetly.  
  
"Wow, it feels weird to be the good chef in the room." Akane said, almost unable to contemplate she was the one fixing up the bad cooking.  
  
"Ya, you're an awesome cook and friend and all that," Indie yelled from her bedroom. She stepped into the kitchen in a small, strapless, black dress and stilettos, "but now's the time when I decide if you're a real friend or not, do I look awesome in this?" She twirled around with a hopeful look on her face.  
  
"You look . . . so pretty! Damn, I am jealous." Akane said helpfully.  
  
"Ya, right." Indie smiled.  
  
The doorbell rang suddenly and they both jumped. Akane flew out of the apron and slipped on her shoes.  
  
"Is the food ready?" Indie asked whispering.  
  
"Yep, just put it on the plate and the soup in the bowl. Good luck!" Akane said smirking devilishly.  
  
She opened the door, still smirking, to a wonderfully handsome guy.  
  
"Ranma?"  
  
A/N: Ooh! Do you think Ranma knew he was going out with Akane's roommate? Is this all part of a master plan? Is Indie for real? Can Akane really cook without making things go insane? What do you think will happen next? Review or I might forget to write the next chapter! Next chapter hopefully up soon! 


	3. Improvise A Smile

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, Rumiko Takahashi and whoever she decides to sell the right to do.  
  
A/N: YAY! New chapter! Tell me if I did something wrong and I'll change it! I already have thanks to a few of you! Should I start replying to reviews at the bottom after the chapter ends? If you want to contact me you can at tiney_panda@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading!  
  
***  
  
I can't hide the way I feel about you anymore  
  
I can't hold the hurt inside  
  
Keep the pain out of my eyes anymore  
  
My tears no longer waiting  
  
My resistance ain't that strong  
  
My mind keeps recreating a life with you alone  
  
And I'm tired of pretending  
  
I don't love you anymore  
  
--'Anymore' by Travis Tritt  
  
***  
  
"Nice day huh?" Ranma asked breathing in fully, smelling the sweet scent of the fresh air. Akane smiled contently, the sun warming Akane's skin felt as if someone had wrapped a weightless blanket around her entire body.  
  
"Beautiful day, the sun's really bright today! So, what did you take me up here to tell me? I know it's not that you hated my cooking last night because you would want to tell me in a public place with witnesses, bystanders. You can scream all you want up here, no one will ever hear." Akane questioned. She was wearing an orange and white sun dress with little flowers embroidered on it. Ranma wore his usual red shirt and black pants but they seemed to be put on with care, not creased or uneven, just right.  
  
"Heh, ya, I could do anything up here, and no body would ever know." Ranma told her distantly, staring into the sky.  
  
"Ranma, what are you talking about?" Akane asked, her nerves not being able to stand it anymore. First he asks her to go to the library and instead brings her up here and then he acts all spaced out when they got there, Akane started to wonder if something might be wrong with Ranma.  
  
"Akane, I have to tell you, I . . . er . . . uh . . . ya know, that thing that two people have . . ." Ranma stuttered shyly. Akane's eye lit up and Ranma stifled a laugh at the sudden change in appearance.  
  
"You . . .?" Akane knew what she wanted to here, but saying it first wasn't right for her, she'd been let down so many times before and wondered why she cared now.  
  
"Listen, you know what I'm gonna say, do I really have to go through with the whole stupid thing?" Ranma asked, frustrated.  
  
"I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about." Akane slyly replied, smiling.  
  
"Ya right." Ranma muttered.  
  
"Listen, I came here to help you with homework, if you don't want any help then I'd be happy to leave." Akane said, getting up slowly, waiting for his hand to stop her. He hesitated as she got up and she started to become worried but finally his hand rested on hers.  
  
"Please, don't. I-I-I've got feelings for you that I've never had for another person and I don't understand why but . . . I know they mean something. And it's damn important to me that you, and only you, hear what they mean. So, here goes." Ranma nervously stated, with many pauses between sentences, words and syllables, "I love you." The look on his face wasn't the look of relief she was expecting but a certain pride in the fact that he had told her that he was strong enough to let her know.  
  
"I . . . think I love you too." Akane said sturdily. She sat back down next to Ranma and stared into his eyes, face to face.  
  
"Great!" Ranma nervously replied.  
  
"So . . . what comes now? I mean, we've admitted we love each other, after much grief and so now we're sort of obligated to . . ." Akane trailed off.  
  
In response Ranma took Akane's face in his hands and kissed her, pulled her in and kissed her again, pushing her hair out of her face he pulled away and looked intently into her eyes, both out of breath.  
  
"I'll never leave you again." Ranma whispered and then it all disappeared.  
  
***  
  
Akane woke up with a start. She could never remember her dreams but this time she had heard a faint voice linger in her memory, a voice she couldn't quite pinpoint and yet it seemed so important.  
  
She hardly remembered her reaction to Ranma's face, his eyes, his whole body, his energy. She took one look into those light pools of blue set in front of her and bolted out the door. He had smirked, she'd remembered that, but she didn't happen to notice anything else because she'd been halfway over to Tara's by then. She wondered if he laughed, she wished he wouldn't laugh at how childish she was being.  
  
"I can take this; I've had to deal with a lot more than one, solitary guy. Just breathe." Akane kept telling herself as she got dressed and headed out the door. She'd eat breakfast at her apartment.  
  
'What if he's there,' she thought, panicking, 'what if he slept . . . and she . . .' Akane couldn't finish her thought because she was already half way up the stairs to her apartment.  
  
"That's what you get for sleeping over at a friend's house two minutes away. You get no time to think." Akane told herself.  
  
"Akane! Dinner was the best! Cook again! Cook again!" Indie screeched as Akane walked through the door and set down her things. She had luckily kept an extra set of clothes at Tara's which she now wore and noticed her clothes in the bag she had arranged to take. In her haste she had forgotten, but reminded herself to thank Tara for remembering.  
  
"Uh . . . I don't think I can cook up a fluke more than once." Akane said sincerely. Indie's face fell.  
  
"But Ranma loved it! He couldn't stop talking about it all night, or you for that matter." Indie told her reluctantly. Akane thought she heard a tinge of jealously in Indie's voice but shook the feeling off.  
  
"Ranma talked about me? What did he say?" Akane asked nervously.  
  
"Oh, just that he'd met you a long time ago, when you were younger, different. Supposedly you two are from the same place in Japen! Small world huh?" Indie declared in her usual sweet manor.  
  
"It's Japan, and you don't honestly believe it's an accident, a coincidence he came back. Why wouldn't he just come back to me and talk to me? Why won't he face me?"Akane asked a bewildered Indie.  
  
"Maybe because you guys weren't that close, at least that's what I got." Indie snapped defensively. Akane noted this but couldn't stop herself.  
  
"And just how long has he been in town?" Akane asked, resting her hands on her hips and pursing her lips. She was ready for one hell of a fight and hoped to get it. She had always wondered how she'd gone so long without one. This Indie was a bimbo-basket case anyway so it wouldn't take much to outsmart her. Akane stopped herself; she was being so incredibly mean. 'Why does he make me get like this?' Akane wondered.  
  
"I'm sorry Indie, I really am." Akane admitted to her big eyed, puppy dog looking friend.  
  
"I guess it's-" Indie started before being interrupted.  
  
"Hey babe, Thanks for lettin' me use your shower, mine just ain't what it used to be," Ranma said as he walked in with a towel around his waist and another around his head. He was staring down, bent over, shaking his hair profusely until it became dryer, "at least that's what the guy at the motel said."  
  
Akane's jaw dropped. She didn't think it was possible for someone's jaw to actually drop in amazement but seeing your ex-fiancé with your new roommate at ten A.M. on a Saturday morning is the kind of thing that could change your mind.  
  
"Morning Ranma! Have a good sleep?" Indie asked sweetly as Ranma still shook his head, towel over his eyes.  
  
"Ya! Well, the small amount I had." Ranma smugly added. Indie laughed. Akane's jaw dropped yet again.  
  
"Guess what Ranma!" Indie cheered.  
  
"What?" Ranma replied, every word he spoke dripping with devilish undertones.  
  
"Akane's gonna cook us breakfast!" Indie said.  
  
Ranma's head shot up, "What?" The towel he used to dry his hair flew off and hit Akane square in the face.  
  
"Oh no, I don't think so! Morning Ranma, great to see you again." Akane spat sarcastically as she peeled the drenched towel off of herself and threw it back at Ranma's awe struck face.  
  
"Akane . . . what a surprise. I didn't know you lived here." Ranma cheerfully told her with a huge smiled plastered across his face.  
  
"You saw me last night!" Akane screamed in her defense.  
  
"Naw, I saw the back of your head," Ranma informed coolly, totally regaining his momentarily lost composure, "as you ran out the door."  
  
"My, don't you have a knack for being the reason I exit a room, or a country for that matter." Akane snarled.  
  
"Hey! There was a reason I-" Ranma stopped himself, "there was a reason I came here, and that reason was you Indie. I'm sorry I wasted my breath on . . . your friend." Ranma apologetically remarked.  
  
"You ass! Get out of my house! Get out," Akane screamed, losing all thought of her surroundings, "or I'm calling the cops." Ranma's face beamed at the thought.  
  
"Don't you want to know how I got here?" He asked.  
  
"Well . . . no!" Akane yelled unsurely.  
  
"C'mon, I remember somebody who'd die to know how I came from Nerima to settle here. And by the way," Ranma told Akane matter-of-factly, "it wasn't because of you." He stuck up his nose and waited.  
  
Akane stared at the phone she had picked up without knowing, ready to phone the Coppers, "All right Ranma, take a seat." Akane gave into her curiosity and was ready for the absurd reason he had relocated so vastly.  
  
"Well, it all began when I died," Ranma told her and a speechless Indie, "well, Ranma Saotome for that matter."  
  
A/N: Okay, what did you think? Have you got any idea where this story is going? And what could Ranma's "death" mean? Review or I might forget to write the next chapter. Next chapter hopefully up soon! 


	4. Painful Truth

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi and whoever she decides to sell the rights to owns Ranma.  
  
A/N: Hey people! Sorry this one took a bit longer but it's here! There's a flashback at the beginning and I'm thinking of maybe having a flashback at the beginning of every chapter. What do you think? I'm gonna start reviewing reviews next chapter because I really want to get this one up! If you want to email me you can at tiney_panda@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading!  
  
***  
  
Try to find if it was worth what you spent  
  
Why you're guilty for the way  
  
You're feeling now  
  
It's almost like being free  
  
And I know soon you will be  
  
Over the lies, you'll be strong  
  
You'll be rich in love and you will carry on  
  
But no - oh no  
  
No you won't be mine  
  
--"You Won't Be Mine" by Matchbox 20  
  
***  
  
Akane sniffed the fragrant air and coughed, it was thick with smoke. She stepped lightly over to the closest pool table and slapped her glass down as frothy liquid spilled over the sides.  
  
"Okay Ranma, you show me the monkey and I'll teach you how to play pool." Akane slurred as she swayed, smiling goofily as her stance dipped. She hummed to the imaginary music in her head and started laughing.  
  
"Obviously your first time drinkin'." Ranma remarked with one eyebrow lifted. He focused back on the cue in front of him and swiftly jolted the pole he was holding forward to hit the red ball on the green table. Akane started giggling again and took her drink off the board to gulp down another swig of the brownish liquid.  
  
"I don't think so mister," Akane told him, pointing her finger, wavering but still at eyelevel with him, "I had a bit before, when it was a special occasion. And I haven't noticed a certain guy named you have any." Akane tried to step closer and tripped, Ranma caught her and laid the pole down on the table.  
  
"Well, we can't all hold our liquor like you." Ranma commented to Akane who was quickly falling out of consciousness.  
  
"That's right, you better believe it!" She barked out and started giggling, falling deeper into Ranma's arms, "I wanna go home Ranma."  
  
"Ya, that'd be pretty good huh," Ranma asked, carefully lifting Akane's head and laying his shoulder underneath her head.  
  
They walked out of the bar right after. Well, not both of them per say, more like Ranma carried Akane out. He stared down at her drowsy figure and smirked, "Congratulations Akane."  
  
"For what Ranma?" Akane pondered worriedly. He set her down and with his shoulder supporting her she started to walk next to him.  
  
"We graduated today, remember?" Ranma whispered into her ear.  
  
Akane groaned and Ranma stopped to survey her for any cuts she could have acquired on the way out of the bar, "Ranma," Akane pulled him up to her and stared dizzily into his eyes, "what am I gonna do?" She held her hand up to his face and stroked the hair out of his eyes. He laughed nervously and she just became more serious.  
  
"Do 'bout what, Akane?" Ranma inquired. He directed her towards their house and looked back at her fear-stricken face.  
  
"About me Ranma, what am I gonna do about me? I'm now someone who's graduated from high school, kinda like a graduate, and I still don't know what I am." Akane told him, her forehead creased and eyes tearing up.  
  
"Uh, I really shouldn't be the one ya talk to 'bout a future. I'm kinda like a gypsy, I don't really have a path, I travel from dojo to dojo, never settlin' down. That's the life for me, it's all I'm really good at, but Akane, you're awesome at school junk and stuff so you could be anything." Ranma told her, bowing his head and feeling a sudden rush of air sweep past his face. He brushed his hair back, sifting through it with his fingers, and sighed.  
  
"Ya right, like I could be anything. You, you're lucky. You know what you're gonna be, what you wanna be, and you're great at everything ya do. I mean, you could be made of sake and people would still want to fight you." Akane complimented smiling.  
  
"Riiight, thanks. Akane you don't have to worry alright? You're gonna be amazin'." Ranma supportively said as they approached the house. Akane stopped him and turned to face her fiancé. She put her hands on her hips and unsteadily stood up on her own.  
  
"Why are you bein' so nice to me?" She suspiciously questioned.  
  
Ranma stared down at the ground and smirked, "'cause ya won't remember a bit 'a this t'morrow."  
  
Akane smiled, "what do you want?"  
  
"Wha? I'm not understandin' ya." Ranma nervously stated as he stared at the door close by him and the girl coming closer and closer to him.  
  
"What men want, Ranma! If I'm gonna be a wife I might as well be a good one. I wonder what my guy'll look like." Akane dreamily burbled.  
  
"What makes ya think he'll . . . not be . . . somebody ya already know?" Ranma stuttered.  
  
Akane frowned, "Because I never get what I want. I could give you what you want though, I could be like a staple, all bendy and . . . and metal." She slurred happily. Ranma could smell the alcohol on her breath and sighed heavily.  
  
"Listen Akane, why don't we getcha inside before ya," Ranma started but was interrupted by a pair of lips pressed against his in an attempt at a kiss. As Akane slowly slid to the floor Ranma picked her up and smiled, "do somethin' you'll regret."  
  
***  
  
Ranma quickly snapped out of his daydream and faced the kitchen where the two girls were getting cups and tea. He knew he'd have to tell the truth now, but it would be so hard to tell her that it wasn't over. She'd probably kick him out anyway so he didn't understand the logic of telling the truth. Sadly, something inside of him told something else inside of him to just get it over with. At that very instant the pair of girls came with some tea.  
  
"Thanks." Ranma muttered as he quickly raised the cup to his lips. He cringed as he realized the temperature of the tea and put it down immediately.  
  
"What's wrong Ranma? Tea too hot for your little tongue? Awww," Akane asked sarcastically, "better rest it after the workout it must've had last night." Akane's comment brought something out in him he hadn't felt in a while, but he couldn't figure out just what it was.  
  
"What can I say; I'm just happy it's not alive, what with you making it." He remarked sweetly.  
  
"SO Ranma, why don't you tell us about how you died? Wow, I've never met a REAL ghost before. Do you know Casper, he's very friendly but I wouldn't trust that sweet exterior, he's probably a litterer or something." Indie suspiciously added, shiftily eyeing the room for the 'evil' ghost.  
  
"Indie, why would a ghost litter? What would it NEED to use in order to litter?" Akane asked exasperated. Indie just shrugged and went back to Ranma's side.  
  
"No Indie, I had to pretend I was dead, if they found out I was looking for Akane then I'd never be able to leave. I had tried a couple times with other excuses but they always caught on. So, I went with the most obvious solution." Ranma explained proudly.  
  
Akane scoffed, "Faking your own death." Ranma nodded and Indie clapped.  
  
"Wow, like on T.V.? Did you ever . . ." Indie trailed off.  
  
"If you're asking if the reason for leaving was a sudden death than no," Ranma told a disappointed Indie, "but I did beat a bunch of guys up!" Indie's face rose and she smiled brightly.  
  
"That doesn't explain why you made me leave on such . . . sudden circumstances." Akane mused.  
  
"Believe it or not Indie, darlin'," Ranma replied, turning to face his bubble headed babe and leaned back on his chair, "your roomie here was spot on her with her suspicions. See, this girl who liked me lots tried to put a spell on me to make me hate Akane. Unfortunately, it did a one-eighty on her and made everyone but me hate Akane. Luckily, because it's a big spell, it's gonna take a little time to fully effect everybody. Interestingly enough, I'm still gonna get affected but I'll be the last to hate ya. With everybody in Nerima ahead of me I bet your wonderin' how long it'll take. Well, when I left 'bout a year ago it was at about fifty percent and that was after what Akane, two years? So I'd give it another year to get to me. Kinda a waste that I'd be the person to hate ya last huh?" Ranma asked joking. He stuck his feet up on the table and rested his hands behind his head.  
  
"Why did it just affect Nerima?" Akane asked as she pushed Ranma's feet off the table and folded her arms. Her eyes seemed to be clouded over and for once, Ranma couldn't read her.  
  
"I dunno," Ranma garbled, "somethin' about proximity or somethin'. Dr. Tofu explained before he got affected. So anyway, I left town to find ya and searched through Kyoto, where I THOUGHT I left you," Ranma motioned to Akane angrily, "but ya weren't there so I searched and finally found ya here. I came to tell ya all about it and met your lovely counterpart," Ranma explained, motioning toward a blushing Indie, "I had dinner with her and left. When I came back to let ya know what happened, my car broke down and I got covered with mud by this dumb ass truck that had it in for me." Ranma smirked and rested back in his big towel waiting for Akane to speak.  
  
A flabbergasted Akane stuttered her way through a response, "Oh, so maybe you've got all your bases covered, so what? That still doesn't make up for what you said to me when I left. That stung Ranma, it really hurt and it was excessive, you really didn't have to do it. So tell me, what the hell is your excuse for that?" Akane hoarsely asked. She wanted to strike him down, punch him out, make him feel as bad as he had, but couldn't. She thought that maybe, just maybe, he would have an answer for her, one that would make everything better, of course she knew that was a pipe dream.  
  
Ranma just bowed his head, "Well, I didn't sleep with Indie." Indie looked fed up with her arms crossed and face set in an angry stare.  
  
"So I was just a pawn? For your little game? You're here for Akane, not me?" Indie asked pleadingly.  
  
"No, of course not, you mean a bunch of stuff to me!" Ranma replied weakly. Indie perked up immediately and grinned.  
  
"You're right, what was I thinking?" Indie asked sweetly.  
  
"I have to go." Akane muttered, "away from here." She said as she grabbed her purse and rushed out he door. She had so much to think about and she felt like she was going to explode.  
  
"Akane wait!" Ranma yelled as she slammed the door.  
  
She half expected him to run after her but as she walked out of the building she was still alone.  
  
"Hi, is Dr. Sing in? It's Akane Tendo." Akane asked into the payphone she currently occupied.  
  
"Yes, have you got an appointment?" The receptionist crackled over the phone.  
  
"No, but I . . . need to talk." Akane finally whispered after she paused.  
  
"Alright, come in at three, we've got an opening. Have a nice day!" The assistant said quickly and hung up the phone.  
  
Akane laughed, "Ya, right."  
  
A/N: So . . . what'd you think? Hope that clears things up a bit! Review or I might forget to write the next chapter. Next chapter hopefully up soon! 


	5. Pocket Full of Posies

A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter but Christmas came and then New Years. Plus when school started I had to get back into the groove of writing. Anyway, here's the new chapter. I hope you like it! If you want to email me you can at tiney_panda@hotmail.com Thanks for reading!  
  
***  
  
It's the way that you smile  
  
The way that you cry  
  
Why I always want to be your man.  
  
They can take away my heart and my soul  
  
They can even tell me you love me no more  
  
But I'm your man,  
  
I'm your man  
  
-- I'm Your Man by Enrique Iglesias  
  
***  
  
"Damn alarms," Ranma muttered furiously as he slammed down on his alarm clock. He heard a loud crunch as his fist smashed the clock to pieces. Ranma pulled his hand back under the pillow his head rested upon and tried to close his eyes again, but to no avail. The luck he had struck falling asleep was obviously not coming back. Now he'd have to do what he did every night, think about her.  
  
"Ranma! Is something wrong?" Soun burst into the room with a worried expression on his face. Ranma groaned.  
  
"Stop waking me up," Ranma moaned. He realized now that he had no choice but to get up. He lifted his heavy head and let it fall to his chest. Soun was beaming and pulled Ranma into the living room.  
  
"So Ranma, how was your sleep?" Kasumi asked sweetly from the kitchen. Ranma grunted in response and she laughed.  
  
"Oh Ranma, you really aren't a morning person are you?" She asked in her normal cheery voice.  
  
Everything had been like this since Akane left. People went back to normal and tried to forget she was ever in Nerima. Ranma knew what he had done four months before was good, but it didn't feel right. He had been asking questions but every time he mentioned Akane, people would cringe and say things he couldn't bear to hear. He knew he could beat up everybody for saying things about her so he decided to bring things up during a conversation when people weren't keeping their guard up. He hoped to get a real response once in a while that would lead to some sort of answer to this perplexing problem.  
  
Shampoo had gone into hiding in a way after Ranma made it clear he was not happy. She closed the Cat Café but did not leave town. Sometimes Ranma would hear something behind him, but never saw anyone there. He felt her presence though, felt her guilt and knew she had done something. Today would be the day he confronted her about it. He'd make her explain every last thing that would turn this insane thing around and then he'd go get Akane. No, he'd fix it first, so when she came back everyone would act like they used to.  
  
Things could get rough and Ranma knew that but for some reason, one he could not admit just yet, he didn't care. He needed to show her through actions, he always had. They didn't need words if they were expressed through what they did. He couldn't say it but he could explain through movements and Akane would understand. Like a good kata, if you just say you want to be centered and an excellent martial artist then that will be all you have, words. If you make the movement though, you get the whole effect. Every move has its secret message and Akane had been the only one aside from his father, Soun and Happosai to understand that, only powerful martial artist can.  
  
He had quickly dressed himself and had a bath while mulling over these things. He decided to skip breakfast and briskly walked into the harsh light of day.  
  
***  
  
Akane smoothed over her jeans and sighed heavily. She was standing outside of the tall building that would hopefully bring her closer to why she felt the way she did. She couldn't put her finger on just how she felt but knew she was getting close to figuring it out. She smiled and pushed the heavy door, stepping in.  
  
***  
  
"So Ranma, you're saying you and Akane were together but you guys had two other girls with you too. Wow, that's a lot," Indie said flabbergasted. Ranma sighed.  
  
"No, Akane was my fiancée, but my father agreed to two other fiancées too because he was an idiot," Ranma tried to explain. He had been at this for half an hour but Indie kept thinking they were in a foursome of some kind. She didn't seem to be surprised though, as if it were just a little out of the ordinary. She was more intrigued than anything else.  
  
"But to become fiancés you guys had to have . . . you know, right?" Indie question, tossing her hair and getting intensely close to Ranma. They were sitting on the couch drinking "Shirley Temples". Ranma didn't know what they were but did know they tasted fantastic! Indie had brought them in after Akane had left.  
  
"No! Never! With Akane? As if," Ranma quickly countered in defense, as if a horrible accusation had been laid upon him. Indie giggled and he bowed his head as he turned red.  
  
"You're still holding onto your v-card huh? That's so unreal! I mean, a guy that looks like you, well, it's not likely here." Indie told him, inching closer. Ranma stood up as she sat almost on top of him. She pouted as he got up and searched his face for an answer.  
  
"Sorry, but there didn't seem to be enough room on the couch for the both of us," Ranma told her. She started to laugh again and almost rolled off the couch. Ranma bent down to catch her and she stopped when she was in his arms.  
  
"You're one of a kind Ranma," She told him, kissing him lightly on the lips; "they don't make people like you here. You've got to remember you're special. You have really good skin!" She felt his face and smirked. Ranma was in semi-shock from the kiss and confusion of what to do but decided to look to the door. In the old days Akane would have been at the door with her mallet or running off crying. He'd run after her and leave the person and the confusion behind to catch up to her. No one was standing there though, he turned back to Indie.  
  
"Uhh . . . I," he had never been in this position before, someone would always interrupt the moment and for the first time in a while he hoped someone would ruin the moment.  
  
"Yes?" Indie asked, increasingly happier.  
  
Suddenly the doorbell rang and Ranma sighed again in relief, "Saved by the bell." He stood up and walked over to the door.  
  
"Hi, is there an Akane Tendo at this residence," the man at the door asked, juggling his clipboard and the huge bouquet of flowers in his hands. Ranma grabbed the clutter of poesies, tulips and roses and took the pen from the delivery man.  
  
'Who would send Akane flowers,' he wondered.  
  
He signed the slip for her and turned, slamming the door behind him, a confused look across his face.  
  
"Ooh, who are those for?" Indie question staring wide-eyed at the flowers.  
  
"A-a-kane," Ranma stuttered. Indie's face returned to its neutral norm.  
  
"Aww, not another one! She always gets them, her rooms stacked full," Indie said sadly.  
  
"Full? By who? I mean, not that I really care," Ranma recovered, "it's just I thought you just moved in, how could her room fill up that fast?"  
  
"It's just Carrington, Akane's secret admirer. He's amazingly handsome but Akane doesn't like him at all. That doesn't stop him from wooing her though! What a sweet guy," Indie distantly replied. IT seemed Indie really liked this Carrington character.  
  
"Sounds a lot like a guy from Nerima, Kuno," Ranma told no one unparticular. Indie shot up and pointed her finger at Ranma.  
  
"That's exactly what she said!"  
  
Ranma smirked.  
  
***  
  
"Hi, I'm here for the three o'clock appointment with Dr. Sing," Akane told the receptionist as she nervously walked in. She could feel everyone's eyes on her wondering what she was there for, judging her and she hated it.  
  
"Ah yes, the courteous caller from before right? Wow, your voice is almost as pretty as you are," the young man at the receptionist table told her, glaring at her with glassy grey eyes that were partially cover by his dirty blond locks of hair.  
  
Akane laughed, "You must have the wrong person, I don't think I'm either one of those things." She set her arms on the table not unwilling to chat until she had to go to the doctor. ]  
  
"Oh, so you're not the damsel in distress from before? The one that called for this appointment," he asked devilishly, "if not then I guess you can't go in." He smirked and Akane's lips turned from their normal frown to a soft smile.  
  
"Fine, yes, I'm the girl but I'm not accepting the compliment," She told him stubbornly.  
  
"Well of course not!"  
  
"What? I thought," Akane wasn't expecting that, "you wanted me to."  
  
"Well how could you without even knowing my name, its Parker by the way. So now will you just take the compliment like it is?"  
  
"I suppose, since you're being so nice about it," Akane told the sweet looking man in front of her. She thought he looked pretty cute, no Ranma but hot in a different way. She never thought she'd meet someone at a doctor's office and decided against getting to know this guy better.  
  
"I'd better get in there, right?" Akane asked nervously. She just wanted to go in and get out. A quick fix to her problems.  
  
"Uh, yeah, go ahead," Parker told her bowing his head and going back to his computer, "listen, I know this is weird but, I just wanna let you know you're not crazy."  
  
Akane stared into his opaque eyes and felt suddenly relieved, "Thanks."  
  
He smirked as he motioned to the door, "At least not to me."  
  
A/N: Ooh! Who's this Parker fellow? And is Carrington really in love with Akane? Tell me what you think! 


	6. Fair Haired

A/N: Sorry it took a while for me to update but homework is swamping me. Japanese is so much memorization and I had a horrible teacher last year so it is even harder! IF you want to contact me you can at tiney_panda@hotmail.com Thanks for reading!  
  
***  
  
Everybody says that they know me better than I know myself  
  
But I don't know nobody else has felt what I felt  
  
Did what I did,  
  
Or been where I been,  
  
But have to defend myself again and again,  
  
Let it end where it begins  
  
--I Believe In Me by Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopez  
  
***  
  
"So this is my 'star' apartment? Doesn't seem like much," Akane said to no one in particular as she wandered into the small condo she had just unlocked the door too. She knew buying anything without seeing it first was crazy but she had jumped at the chance when she'd seen the low price.  
  
'I suppose there's a little Nabiki in all of us,' she figured in her head, smiling at the thought of her sister. At the end, before she had gone and before everything had gotten bad, Nabiki had really been sweet to her; helping her with her homework, picking out the right shoes for her prom dress, even leading Kuno through a maze to let her get to school without him attacking her with roses. They had started to really act like sisters, even though you'd never catch Nabiki admitting it.  
  
"I wonder what these walls have seen," Akane whispered as she placed her hand upon the wall and cupped her ear to it, hoping to hear even the faintest whisper of a companion. The wall kept silent and she shrugged off the insecurities that crowded over her.  
  
It had been a year and a half since she departed from her hometown and the memories still stung, her eyes still wet with tear when she remembered. Better days would come again. That was her personal mantra, she had been saying it to herself throughout her days and it had somewhat helped her cope with the fear and loneliness.  
  
Akane released her ear from the wall and started walking slowly to the next room, dragging her hand lazily across the dented wall.  
  
If these walls had been made of metal they would be rusty. That was the only way Akane could explain how they felt, their texture seemed to change from shallow to bumpy in a split second. Akane thought back to her geography class and the special maps that were bumpy where mountains were located. The walls felt like that except less rubbery and more stucco-y.  
  
"Is stucco-y even a word? If it is, who made it up? They think like me, maybe they're the one to save me," Akane muttered to the wall, letting her gaze fall to the small divots in the drywall.  
  
The next room in the house was the bedroom which consisted of a spring mattress on the hard wood floors and a crooked picture of an ugly looking person from what seemed to be the early twenties. The girl was dressed in a scarlet dress, seeming to be made of the richest fabric, and yet the girl herself seemed like she didn't deserve such beauty. The problem, in Akane's mind, had been that the painter forgot what their centre of attention was supposed to be. They obviously spent plenty of time on the dress but when it came to the girl, all the magic was gone. She had dull black hair, cut short, almost like Akane's. Her skin was, at most, partially glowing, but it seemed there was a layer of decay over it. Seeming like it was glowing underneath but there was a layer of smoke upon it, never letting its true beauty show. Akane felt for the girl, she didn't know what she felt, but it sparked something in her and it became frightening.  
  
Akane quickly moved to touch its surface and gingerly tapped the scarlet dress, feeling for something real, but it stayed fake. No matter how real it looked it stayed a painting, an image, a reflection of a person or dream. She moved away and into the next room.  
  
The bathroom had no curtain and only a rusted bath, almost indescribably dirty sink, and a toilet without a seat. Akane laughed, 'I'm like a toilet with out a seat, searching for my other part. People can use me but I'll always work best with what I'm supposed to work with.'  
  
Just then Akane remembered the purse across her shoulder and took it off. Staring into the cracked mirror she noticed she had been crying, mascara dripping down slightly. Akane wiped it away and went into her purse to reach for some more when her hand gripped a bottle of Tylenol she had bought to stop the arm pain she had been having, there was almost a full bottle left. She opened the medicine cabinet and found two unopened bottles of Advil, with cotton still inside, stuffed tightly.  
  
Without thinking of what was going on Akane went to grab her lipstick, using the lid she filed it with water and popped the first pill in her mouth. She refilled it and popped the second pill, taking the shot of water and quickly downing the rest in a fluid process, almost a ritual. After enough to make her start to feel horrible she ran to the tub and threw up but it only made her feel worse and so she turned on the rusty tap letting the cool water flow, grabbed the bottle and chugged the rest, trying to down them with the tap water.  
  
Akane felt horribly dizzy and knew she shouldn't have done it but it was too late, Ranma and people wouldn't have to worry about her anymore. She was free to be what she always wanted to be, wanted. Once they found out she was dead they would want her back and maybe they'd cry for her or go to her funeral, maybe they'd forgive her for the things she didn't know she had done.  
  
Everything was starting to go really fuzzy and the last thing she saw before she fainted were a pair of brown eyes staring back at her and a face shaking her into consciousness and urging her to throw up.  
  
***  
  
Akane sat nervously on the edge of her seat as the women took her notebook and wrote furiously with her expensive looking pen, sitting on the leather chair next to her.  
  
"So you tried to commit suicide?" The woman asked, neutral. She could be easily summed up in a word, fair. Her complexion was fair, hair was blond and hair sprayed to perfection, and clothes a non-offensive beige with just a little collar so as not to draw too much authority. All in all, she looked like a brilliant woman and the awards and diplomas behind her, nailed to her walls didn't hurt her case.  
  
"No, I just wanted to feel numb, but that person helped me throw it up. I'm not sure how much I took, but I threw up what felt like two hundred bottles of the stuff. After that I refused to go to counseling and begged the sweet guy not to tell anyone," Akane explained. It was a dark time in her life, but everyone seemed to only hear suicide then label her crazy, there was so much more to it that didn't get explained like feelings and reasons.  
  
"You need to understand that this is going to take a lot of counseling, but I'm sure if we work together it will help you ease the process of getting on with this," the woman smiled and explained.  
  
"So you're saying I'll get over it?" Akane asked hopefully. The woman grasped her hand.  
  
"I can't say that you'll be fine, or remotely like you were before this happened, but I can say that I want to help you become the person you were destined to be. Don't think of your attempt at suicide as the end of your life, but a path you chose to take as you made your way to the end," Dr. Sing told Akane seriously. She took Akane's hand and pressed it to her neck, "Feel that? It's a pulse, and everyone knows only live people have pulses."  
  
Akane smiled. Her watch beeped and signaled the end of their session, "Thank you, the time went really fast."  
  
"No problem, I can't wait until we talk again alright? Just go make another appointment with Parker. Thank you for coming and taking the first step," Dr. Sing said sweetly.  
  
Akane nodded and politely walked to the door.  
  
"Oh and Akane," Dr. Sing called out. Akane turned around and the doctor smiled, "you are an amaing person, remember that."  
  
Akane nodded and walked out the door, shutting it tightly behind her.  
  
"Feel better?" Parker asked. Akane managed a smiled and nervous laugh but couldn't hold back the tears that started to fall.  
  
"Yep, I'm just tired," Akane answered through sniffles.  
  
"Well, if ya ever wanna talk," Parker handed her a piece of paper he had scrawled his name and number on and smiled.  
  
"Thanks," Akane managed and walked out of the building after taking the paper.  
  
***  
  
Ranma paced the floor, "What's taking her? Where'd she go?" He stared at a miffed Indie, not too happy all Ranma's attention had been arched away from her.  
  
"Don't worry Ranma, you should really calm down. You know what calms me down, a good hair dye job!" Indie's eyes lit up as she mentioned this and Ranma fell back.  
  
"Uh . . . no thanks, but maybe," Ranma tried to say without much convection. He was seriously starting to wonder about the mental state of Indie. In the last hour she had tried to persuade him to go buy a dog, hop on a train, become a pirate, and get implants. He wondered if it was a coincidence Akane was left with such a girl and tried to inquire to Indie about her odd thoughts.  
  
"Well, you know that little voice in the back of your head that says 'Indie, don't say that!'?" She asked, peering into his utterly blue eyes.  
  
"Yes, oddly enough I get that all the time . . . how eerie! And to think, I thought I was going insane, but now that I've found you Indie, those thoughts finally make sense," Ranma performed in a deep, serious voice, horribly sarcastically but to no notice of the happy go lucky Indie.  
  
"You know, that might be the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me," She said dreamily.  
  
"Right . . ." Ranma stuttered. He now realized that there was not much more to this girl except her being a few clowns short of a full car.  
  
"What d'ya say? C'mon hun, it'll be fun," Indie assured him, bobbing her head up and down frivolously.  
  
"I've gotta go check on some leads, when Akane gets back tell her I'm out," Ranma instructed Indie. She nodded playfully with a huge grin plastered across her face.  
  
"Sure thing boss, but if she doesn't come back tonight," Indie said, standing tall and walking up to Ranma, laying a hand on the top of his shoulder and reaching her lips as close to his ear as possible. In a hushed tone she continued, "you're more than welcome to stay."  
  
"On second thought," Ranma told her nervously, "only tell Akane if she asks, I'd hate her to think I care." He nodded and walked out the door. Indie steadied herself on the nearest table.  
  
"Yeah, and you wouldn't want a crazy rumor like that mulling around," Indie muttered sadly.  
  
A/N: Well? I am positively going to put the next chapter up sooner . . . hopefully. So what do you think these crazy leads Ranma's stalking about are? And who saved Akane from her near fatal accident? 


	7. Do the Twist

A/N: I'm sorry if this format is messed, so tell me if it is alright? Well, this is the seventh chapter . . . yep. Here it is! If you want to contact me my email is tiney_panda@hotmail.com Thanks for reading!  
  
***  
  
Look at me, my depth perception must be off again  
  
You got much closer than I thought you did  
  
I'm in your reach  
  
You held me in your hands  
  
But could you find it in your heart?  
  
To make this go away  
  
And let me rest in pieces  
  
-- "Rest in Pieces", Saliva  
  
***  
  
Akane walked out of her apartment cheerily. She had been out with her friends the night before and they had gone to a side splitting movie. She could still remember a couple good jokes and laughed loudly at the thought of them. People on the street didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, but it was obvious to her. This was the first time in a long while she had been truly happy by herself.  
  
She was out scouting for a good place, any place, to get a job and had high hopes. She didn't care if every building she tried today shot her down, things felt good. The sun was shining, birds singing, and her mind was clear.  
  
She walked down the street, coffee cup in hand, simply staring. She stared at the birds and children, the man across the street hosing down the flowers outside his shop and smiling to himself. It made her feel good, walking in the morning and things couldn't have been better. She would meet her friends at her place later for dinner again. They had decided this was the week they would watch movies with some male celebrities and rate a couple, mix-and-match a few, and have an all around good time.  
  
As she walked up the boulevard she noticed something shiny on the ground, dropped by the person in front of her, and bent to pick it up at the exact time she had. Their hands touched as they both lifted the money clip that had fallen out of the man's bag. It had a Kanji character on it, and Akane smiled with recognition.  
  
"Strength, eh? I've known a few strong guys myself, but I'm sure you've never heard of them before," Akane laughed, trying to start conversation with the man in front of her. As she had started to speak, the man's ears had perked up; she took that as a good thing.  
  
He wore a wide brimmed hat and a large back pack she imagined had been used for hiking. His tan shirt went well with his plain, black pants. There was dirt on his shoes; it looked as if he had been running through sand of some sort.  
  
"Akane," the man half whispered, "I can't believe it's you."  
  
She recognized the voice. Not instantly but the nervous undertones gave him away.  
  
"Ryoga," she muttered, biting her lip. Her heartbeat faster, legs started to buckle and her teeth started to chatter. If he hated her, yelled at her right now that would be bad. Akane didn't want anything bad right now, not when she was feeling this good, "nice seeing you, I'll just be leaving."  
  
As she continued on with her walk, wiping her eyes, he grabbed her arm. He did not take it forcefully, just tightly enough for her not to fall out of his grasp. She breathed in quickly in surprise and fright.  
  
"Yes," she said, trying to calm herself to no avail. She stopped to breath and then wiped her eyes again, "if you're here to berate me, you can let go of my hand."  
  
"Listen Akane, I don't know what's going on but I've been doing some investigating and I've got something to tell you, if you're willing to listen," Ryoga explained, hurrying her into a park bent. She bumped her leg on the arm of it and cringed; at which Ryoga fell to her leg, and lifted her up and sat her down on the bench.  
  
"Go on," Akane told him, confused.  
  
"Well, I found out this is bigger than just Nerima, and people . . . these people want to hurt you. It's gotten a lot bigger than what we thought, it's amazing what one spell gone awry could do," Ryoga mulled. Akane scrunched up her forehead quizzically. He laughed and apologized, "I must sound like I'm half here and half not, huh?"  
  
"Yeah; I mean, Ryoga, you've changed," Akane whispered, "What spell are you talking about? Was I right? What people are against me?"  
  
Ryoga held a hand up to her mouth to quiet her and she stopped, "I might have lead them off for a long time Akane, so don't worry, but be careful, never let your guard down. People would do anything for money, it's sick," Ryoga rambled on to himself. Akane pushed herself closer to him and worriedly pulled him right up to her.  
  
"What are you talking about, Ryoga? Not trust anyone? I'm renting out part of my apartment soon, what do you think I'll be saying to applicants? "Sorry, but my friend says I can't trust anyone so I guess I'll lose my apartment because I can't find a roommate to trust." Should I even trust you?," Akane told him angrily. She let herself fall back against the chair and waited for an explanation.  
  
Ryoga took a few deep breathes and then hurriedly tried to explain, "I went to places, far away, but something stayed constant in each of them. See, they knew you, at least one person in each place had it in for you, and they explained why," he took another deep breath and then started again, "they told me there was a bounty on your head, a large bounty, not many people had found out what plane you took to get to New York and not many people made the effort until the bounty grew, and grew. I've done some things to make it so they won't be on your trail, but I don't know how long it will last." Ryoga looked behind him and then turned around to stare into Akane's fearful face.  
  
"B-b-but, what have I done? Why? Who would . . . ," she trailed off. Ryoga stared at his shoes, at the dirty asphalt, "you know, you know who set it. Well, spit it out, who?"  
  
He wiped something from his eye and then looked up at her again, "You'd better go, they won't track you here but they may have tracked me," He started to get up and waited for Akane to join him but she stayed put.  
  
"I'm not moving until you tell me, who set the bounty?" Her eyes welled up; she was ready for anything, Ukyo maybe, Shampoo perhaps.  
  
"Akane, you don't want to know."  
  
"Yes I do Ryoga, now tell me."  
  
"Please, don't make me," he started to step back.  
  
"I won't ever talk to you again if you don't tell me," she replied, her face serious.  
  
"Akane, the person that set the bounty, that was," he trailed off.  
  
"Yes," she said with intrigue.  
  
". . . wasn't just one person, it was . . . your dad, and Kasumi, and Nabiki."  
  
"And Ranma? Why don't you just throw him in there too for good measure!" Akane jumped up and fell back down when pain shot through her leg. She winced in pain and Ryoga was immediately at her side.  
  
"I'm not lying to you; it's true; it's why I didn't want to tell you. I'm sorry."  
  
"I have to go," Akane mumbled as she got up and quickly hobbled away, forgetting the pain in her foot. She had to leave, it wasn't good to stay, and things would start to sink in, make sense. She had to forget, it wasn't worth caring about.  
  
Ryoga watched her leave the park and sat back down with his head in his hands. He stayed like that for a good twenty minutes. In the past years he had learned so much, become so different, and yet, she still made him nervous the way she used to. He mulled like this and laid his head in his hands again and again, looking up every so often for a sign of her return. All of a sudden, a friendly voice awoke him from his dreamless state.  
  
"Hey, you okay?"  
  
Ryoga lifted his head to see a girl, a pretty girl with beautiful golden hair. He nodded and smiled.  
  
"Yep, uh, thanks for asking. Why did you ask?" Ryoga asked suspiciously.  
  
She smiled widely, getting closer and sitting close to him, "I wanted to see your face, I had to say something."  
  
Ryoga didn't understand, "Why would you need to see my face?"  
  
She smiled darkly, looked to see no one was around, and then plunged something very sharp into Ryoga's chest. He felt it go in and felt incapacitated. He knew it hit him in just the right place. He thought it would have taken them longer to find him, thought they wouldn't have cared what he had done back where he had been, but sadly, he had been wrong.  
  
"So, what do you plan to do now?" Ryoga asked, gurgling, tasting blood.  
  
She smirked, "I'm gonna go get ready."  
  
"Why?" He asked, breathing heavily and slowly, he felt tired, very tired.  
  
"I'm moving in with a real nice roommate. She's not from around here, but don't worry, we'll be the best of friends," the girl said, mock concerned.  
  
***  
  
Three weeks later  
  
"You want some grape juice, Akane?"  
  
Akane groaned and rubbed her head. She got up and yawned, reaching out her arms as far as they could go. She flung her feet over the bed and flipped her slippers over so they were right side up. She always wore them before bed, kicked them off and flipped them over in the morning; it was like a routine for her now.  
  
"Uh, no thanks, I'm not really in the mood for juice," Akane mumbled tiredly. She dragged herself into the bathroom and started to brush her teeth. As she did she reached into the shower and turned the faucet for hot water on. It came out freezing cold and she shrieked in surprise. After she stopped she burst out laughing and spit out the rest of her toothpaste.  
  
"Are you sure Akane? I made it myself," Indie persisted.  
  
"No thanks, Indie," she called over her shoulder, "I guess no shower for Akane today, great," she mumbled to herself.  
  
She opened the door, threw on a robe, and walked into the kitchen where Indie had been making breakfast.  
  
"Indie, did you use all the hot water," Akane asked, "because there's none left for me."  
  
"Oh yeah, sorry about that," Indie giggled and then went back to her breakfast, a piece of toast with what looked like mustard on it.  
  
"It's all good," Akane told her, sighing.  
  
"Now you've got to try my juice, as a sorry gift from me!" She smiled earnestly and Akane sighed again.  
  
"All right, but are you sure it's good?" Akane asked as she took the glass. Indie watched the glass as Akane held it to her lips.  
  
"Oh yes, it's to die for," she said innocently.  
  
Akane nodded drowsily and pressed her lips to the glass as she tilted it back.  
  
Suddenly, Ranma burst into the room, "Akane!"  
  
"What?" She asked, surprised at the outburst. As this happened she dropped the glass and it shattered, pieces flying everywhere.  
  
"Where were you yesterday? I was waiting here the whole day, you idiot! I thought something happened to you," he yelled furiously. Akane forgot about the glass and didn't notice the fly that flew in, took a drink from the pile and immediately dropped onto its back, lifeless.  
  
"Excuse me? What, am I just supposed to sign in and out, forget about my life and hand it over to you? Just because you're back Ranma, it doesn't mean I'm just gonna jump into your arms! You're such a jerk!"  
  
"What? This is what I get for trying to help!?!"  
  
"Help? What have you ever done to help me?"  
  
A/N: Do you get it at the end? Was this confusing? Review or I might forget to write the next chapter! Next chapter hopefully up soon! 


	8. New News

---------------  
  
Have you ever found the one  
  
You've dreamed of all of your life  
  
You'd do anything to look into their eyes  
  
Have you finally found the one you've given your heart to  
  
Only to find that one won't give their heart to you  
  
Have you ever closed your eyes and  
  
Dreamed that they were there  
  
And all you can do is wait  
  
For the day when they will care  
  
--"Have You Ever" by Brandy

---------------

Akane set her watch down on the nightstand next to her. She lay on her bed, a feel of euphoria spreading over her. She had been working a double shift today, and had been making this a common occurrence for the past three weeks. Her eyelids felt heavy, her spirits equally hefty.  
  
Things had not gone as she had planned. They were supposed to all blow over and she would have a wonderful life after she got a job. Being fired from her last one wasn't a pretty sight so having been pleaded to accept this job made her ecstatic. Unfortunately, at the time she didn't give any thought to the fact they had been looking for a waitress, the fourteenth waitress this year had quit the day before. Of course the man interviewing her didn't give her this tidbit of information, a cute old lady had after spilling a bit of coffee on the ground and Akane helped pick it up.  
  
She knew she shouldn't quit when things got tough but she was seriously considering it. Her manager was a slimy man with fake hair, a fake smile and a very fake promise when she had started working at "The Lonely Chicken".  
  
"We here at The Lonely Chicken are happy to listen to any suggestions you might have," he had said rather slimily. Akane wondered to her self how she could have let that slip by, not figuring out she was about to work for a one-track minded loser like Lenny.  
  
"Well thanks," she had replied eagerly.  
  
Akane remembered it bitterly. She could have left by then, could have said, "Y'know, I think I might be homicidal, I might as well save you the embarrassment of me going postal on this place by leaving now, an never," I should have stressed, "never returning!"  
  
Sadly she had not, and although it was bad it was all she had. So she readily slipped into her pajamas and under the covers into a dreamless sleep.  
  
When she awoke her alarm buzzed happily until she slapped it. She had forgotten to unset it, as it was a weekend. Restless and totally awake Akane got up. She stretched her arms wide and let them flop to her sides, walking quietly out of her room and into the kitchen.  
  
"Morning Oren," Akane greeted her leafy little friend. The sun seemed to glimmer off Oren's leaves and Akane took that as a joyful response, "nice day today, huh?" Akane asked the little plant, staring out her window into the courtyard ahead of her. The flowers were popping out of the dirt and the birds were whistling their songs once again. Early spring had always been a special time for Akane, there was so much growth. It meant leaving the person you were behind, and leading a new life.  
  
Just then there was a knock on the door. Akane motioned towards it until she heard an all too familiar voice and cringed.  
  
"Akane dearest? Are you there my sweet ray of sunshine? I have flowers for you," the voice bribed. Akane hesitated for another second and then gave in and walked towards the door.  
  
As she unlocked and twisted the knob she muttered, "Always with the flowers."  
  
Standing at the door was a fairly tall, dark haired man with high cheekbones and a bouquet of elegant flowers in front of him, as if he were less than the majestic beauty of the flowers.  
  
"Hi Carrington," Akane greeted with a sigh, "how have you been?"  
  
He grinned and pushed through the door, "My dear, we haven't looked into each other in so long," he began with an all too familiar American accent, pushing the flowers into Akane's face, "do you like my gift for you?"  
  
Akane sighed again, "They're beautiful, but Carrington," she turned to him and held his shoulders straight, making him look into her eyes, "I do not have feelings for you."  
  
"But..." Carrington tried.  
  
"But nothing," Akane responded with lightening fast speed, "you are a dear friend and I owe you my life, but buying me flowers is not going to get me to fall for you, so stop wasting your money."  
  
Carrington stood still, pondering the thought, "Yes," he admitted, "the flowers will never make you love me," Akane beamed, she had finally gotten through to him, or so it had seemed, "but chocolates! Now that's the way to a woman's heart," he rationalized seriously.  
  
Akane threw up her arms in anguish and was completely put out, "What do you want Carrington?"  
  
"Why just to serve you my princess," he explained plainly, "doesn't everybody?"

---------------  
  
"Me? How could I make you spill that? I wasn't even in the freakin' room ya psycho," Ranma bellowed back to Akane.  
  
She came back from the kitchen, paper towels in hand; ready to clean up the mess, "Well Mr. I-can't-admit-my-mistakes, I have to do something about this. So I'm busy and Indie over there is too."  
  
Ranma scoffed, "what's Indie doin'?"  
  
"She's," Akane searched for an answer, "having breakfast."  
  
Ranma laughed, "Oh, and she can't have it when I'm here?"  
  
"Of course not," Akane explained, letting the words just flow out of her mouth, "it's umm . . . a solitary art. Yes, it's a very one person type deal, isn't that right Indie?" Akane asked nervously.  
  
"Uh, I usually don't have breakfast alone," she told Ranma, walking up right in front of him, "usually not even in my own house."  
  
Ranma shifted nervously but stood his ground.  
  
Akane rolled her eyes and bent down to wipe up the mess. Ranma jumped, "Hey, you idiot, don't just wipe it up! There's glass, you could get, y'know, cut or somethin'," he warned vaguely.  
  
Akane looked up at him and grinned, "What's wrong Ranma? Trying to protect your little, ol' fiancé?"  
  
Ranma sneered, "More like protecting an investment."  
  
Akane sneered back, but got up and away from the mess. She walked into the kitchen and came back with a bucket, slowly starting to pick up every piece.  
  
Ranma moved swiftly past Indie, before she could grasp onto him, and bent down, starting to help Akane.  
  
"What are you doing?" She asked suspiciously.  
  
"You shouldn't do this alone," he muttered.  
  
Akane started to laugh. Ranma looked up and raised an eyebrow.  
  
Akane explained, "I just think its funny, you helping me pick up the pieces after you made me -I mean them- break."  
  
Ranma's face darkened, but he kept silent, picking the shards up a bit faster.  
  
Indie looked on at the sight; she had a problem. If she was going to delete Akane and acquire the large bounty on her head she would have to get this big lug of an ex she had out of the way. She just had to figure out some way of doing it.  
  
Akane looked up, "I'm sorry Indie; did you make it yourself?" Akane asked, feeling quite guilty. She pointed to the bucket, filled with shards.  
  
Indie looked over confused, but remembering her previous lie, stared at the ground gravely, "its fine, I just wanted to help out."  
  
Ranma was about to pick up another shard when he saw something black lying next to it. He picked up the tiny thing and inspected it. It was a fly, a very dead one. He gazed over where it had been and noticed a pool of juice surrounding it. Suspiciously, he looked up at Indie. She was staring at the fly looking almost worried.  
  
Indie laughed, "Stupid bugs, I'm just terribly scared of 'em!" She took a little step back, falling a bit.  
  
"Right. It's dead," Ranma declared, waiting for an explanation.  
  
Akane shrugged and rolled her eyes, "Bugs die, you weirdo."  
  
Indie nodded vigorously, "I think I heard once that bugs can't have too much sugar."  
  
"Of course," Ranma said blankly. He got up and brushed invisible flecks of dirt of himself, turning his attention to Akane, "we've gotta talk."  
  
Akane noted how serious he was and nodded, confused and intrigued, "Sure."  
  
Ranma stared nervously toward Indie and Akane sighed, "Coffee?"  
  
"Sure," Ranma accepted speedily, getting ready to go. Akane went to get ready as well and heard a voice from the hall as she got some earrings, "Hurry up!"  
  
"Wait! I had to wait years for you, try five minutes for me," Akane told him, smirking to her self.  
  
She head no response and stepped out of her room, smiling. They walked out the door and Ranma helped her out, grasping onto her waist. She didn't say anything, pretended she was fine, but something quelled inside of her. Something long forgotten, but never lost.  
  
"C'mon, we've got some things to mull over," Ranma told her as they stepped out of the building. Akane felt as if she was floating as Ranma continued, oddly businesslike, "I think you might be in danger."  
  
"Calm down, I've been here for a while, I can handle myself!" Akane laughed.  
  
Ranma turned her around and stared her in the eyes, "No, you can't. Listen, this curse, it doesn't just affect other people."  
  
Akane felt something in her chest stop for a second, skipping a beat, "What?"  
  
"Akane," Ranma breathed heavily, trying to figure out how to explain. He finally spoke again, worriedly, "have you ever tried to, y'know," he touched the word so lightly, "die?"  
  
Akane stared down, tears building up, "So you're saying?" Akane didn't even want to think of the possibilities.  
  
"The spell, it's gonna make ya wanna kill yourself, when you're real weak, but ya can't give in, okay?" Ranma told her, willing her to feel better.  
  
Akane nodded, trying to stay calm, but having a very hard time, "It's just, I can't run from it, it's inside me and always will be. If I cut my self off from the world I'll still be fight," Akane started to break down, "and I'm sick of it."  
  
They arrived at the café and sat at a nearby table.  
  
Ranma sighed, "Okay Akane, now tell me everything you know, we've got work to do."  
  
Akane nodded, pulling out a tissue.  
  
"Oh, and Akane," Ranma said, leafing through the pages he had brought in his coat.  
  
"Yes," Akane responded drearily.  
  
Ranma smirked, "I'm not a weirdo."  
  
A/N: Sorry about taking a while. And ff.net is not letting me use stars so that is why I've partitioned with dashes. Review or I might forget to write the next chapter! Next chapter hopefully up soon!


	9. A Short Revelation

-

I know we got some history

We got some issues that we need to solve

But is it really such a mystery?

It's just the way that the world evolves

Let me ask your forgiveness baby

My heart is ever full of sorrow

We got to move into the future maybe

And think about a new tomorrow

-"Forget About the Future" by The Police

* * *

Ranma awakened suddenly, wrenched from another somber dream. He wiped the sweat from his brow and ran his delicate fingers through his hair. He closed his lids tightly and bit his lip.

He had dreamed of her again. It was always her, haunting his memory, guilt becoming far too much for him to stand. He had wanted to reach out to her that night, wanted to stop her from hating him, from feeling betrayed and lonely.

Mostly though, he knew she had no one. Where she was going she would have to reinvent herself. There would be no crazy princes, no comical situations that he could solve in the end; she would be alone forever and it was **all** his fault. He contemplated a lot, it being his fault, his fiancés always being a problem. Perhaps keeping her around for so long was not fair, perhaps it was selfish, but hey, he needed something to look forward to when he woke up too.

Before her, he had been slightly distant, living only to train. Yet, now he awoke and he memorized the pretty lines and decadent curves of her body, etched upon his mind for eternity, and he knew they would always be there. She was the one that changed him, the one that took the boy he was and, at the same stage as he, grew. They used each other, like the training trick he had learned where you sit back to back and have to get up without using your hands; it was a joint effort. They pushed each other, and, although they did not quite know how to get the whole way up yet, they knew they had each other.

Selfishness, he had never pondered it more openly with himself, baring the idea that all this pain and confusion was his fault. He knew it probably was, but she could take part of the blame too. Why, if she had not acted the way she did, he never would have fallen for her.

When a man has two things to look forward to; becoming a better martial artists and a girl, it is hard to decide which takes precedence. Ranma had been mulling over this the night before the incident.

It simply came down to this; what he wanted, and what he needed. One was a yearning, the other a necessity. And the moment Ranma set his eyes on Akane, with her fixed stare and uncomplicated fury; he knew that the necessity for the past sixteen years of his life had been replaced by one long pair of eyes.

Ranma Saotome's life had never been the same again.

And now he was lying here, seeing her off only nights before, watching everyone around him slowly start to forget, start to relax now that the bright light that had been Akane Tendo was gone.

A piece of him had died that night, and Akane had taken it with her.

* * *

After Akane relayed the information Ryoga had given to her, Ranma's eyes shadowed over. He had dreamt the dream again last night; the dream he had had every single night since she had left. It was always the same, and hurt with painful renewal every time. He could not look in her eyes just now; this was entirely his fault.

Akane grinned noticeably, "And yes," she continued, "you are weird."

Ranma tried to pass his behavior off as nonchalant, but he couldn't help getting vivid images of the dream. He had to tell her, tell her he was sorry, that he missed her and that everything would be fine, that he would solve the whole thing in the blink of an eye. And yet, he had never been a good liar; only once and that was a very long time ago. . .

"Akane this ain't gonna be over in a split second," he had managed under the glare of her adorable face, and the yearning he felt at the back of his throat and the tips of the hairs on his neck grew, "but I'll be here to help ya."

Akane was taken slightly aback by his forthrightness and, not to be outdone, nodded solemnly, "You don't have to be where you don't want to Ranma, I don't need you here."

_'Yes I do,' a voice inside her cried, 'I need you Ranma Saotome and don't you ever leave again!'_

Ranma stared at her, holding the cup of coffee in his hands, sipping it delicately, not noticing the taste, "This is my fault Akane, and I gotta clean up my mess."

That was when Akane had a realization, a very large one indeed. If it had been a McDonald's fries, it would be super-sized. She realized Ranma was only there because he felt it was his fault; not for her, or her family, but because his honored permitted him to do no less. Akane felt the tears again.

"Ranma, you left me that night," Akane choked, controlling her self, and then continuing as Ranma tried to look away, "you left me and I obeyed. So, do me a favor and don't stay. Do yourself a favor and don't stay; I know you're only here because you think it's your fault, that the," Akane searched for the word and spat out the only thing that came to mind, "the **mess** I am today is somehow your doing. Well, Ranma, unless you've been somehow controlling my actions for the past few years, hell my entire life, then it really isn't your fault," Akane stood up effectively and grabbed her coat, heading for the door, turning back only for a second, "or your problem."

As Ranma watched her leave, he sighed, ran his fingers through his hair, and went over what he could have said.

* * *

"Hi, is this Parker?" Akane asked, over the buzz of the streets. She heard a crackled 'why hello' on the other end and continued, "wanna get a drink?"

She somehow got the address to a little bistro a few blocks away that he promised to be at real soon, "I'm just around there" he had said.

Funny, Akane mused, the doctor's office wasn't near here at all.

By the time she got to the restaurant, she waited for a few minutes and he was there, fair haired and freshly shaven. He stared at her clothes, and then her face, "You look a mess," he said simply and she laughed.

"And you look like you could win Miss Universe," Akane mused mournfully, "I should go. . ."

She turned to leave and felt a hand gently tug at her arm, "Please don't," he pleaded, "I've been waiting for you to call for days and it would be hardly polite for you to leave after just meeting up with me."

Akane turned back around and smiled wryly, "Oh really?"

He pretended to be shocked, "Oh yes, I never thought of you as a tease!"

Akane raised a brow, "You've only just met me though, shouldn't you wait to form such solid opinions?"

He laughed, slightly nervous, "I've read up on your file, at the office, you're from Nerima, that's cool. I think I've got a buddy who just moved down there."

She rolled her eyes, "Poor, poor him."

Parker inched closer while they awaited their table, "Well, they had to get somebody else in there after the life of the town left, right?"

Akane felt cold, "What are you talking about?" She asked icily, more hostile than ever.

He backed away slightly and put his hands up in surrender, smiling kindly, "Just tryin' to make a joke here, no need to get upset!"

Akane almost spoke up and then sighed, "You're right, I'm sorry I'm being such a cow, but I've had a rough day."

He smiled, "then please, let me make your night as un-rough as possible," he leaned in right next to her ear and whispered hotly, "that is unless you tell me otherwise."

Akane's face went beet red, and she was very happy her date could not see.

From the darkness, Ranma watched this suspiciously, and just the least bit jealously, he made a conclusion; Parker was bad news.

* * *

Akane had a wonderful night, and as she drunkenly stumbled into her apartment, saying goodbye to Parker only moments before, the beginning of her nigh had slipped away. Ranma was no where on her mind; the alcohol took care of that. She had actually, at this moment, forgotten he had even come back.

She grinned sloppily and threw her keys at Oren, missing the table horribly, giggling quietly, and continuing to throw her coat on the coach, along with herself a few seconds later. The apartment was in complete darkness considering it was two AM and Indie had to get up early the next day. Akane giggled as she remembered the glass breaking, she was so silly.

She pulled herself up and sat upright on the coach, staring side to side in the darkness, "The dark before the light I suppose," she mused lightly.

"So how was your date?" A voice asked from the kitchen.

Akane's eyes widened as she saw the fridge open and the light emanate from it. Ranma sat there, angry look plastered over his face, "Turn out the light, you'll wake Windy."

"You mean Indie," Ranma told her patronizingly, as he stepped closer and sat opposite her.

He kept quite and stared intensely at her, staring through her glassy eyes with a cold look, bearing through her skin. Akane couldn't help the fact that she wanted to lunge on him right now. She wouldn't mind it. Now that he was back, things might get easier. Why, right this moment she felt looser and freer than she ever had. She trembled after a few moments though, his heavy gaze weighed her down. He was probably thinking about how much he hated her.

Akane needed to tell him something, "The fridge is open; all the food will fall out."

Ranma's lips seemed to curve into a different, more crescent shape that she could almost call a smile, "Well, if that ain't the most important thing I ever heard," he muttered sarcastically.

Akane took great offense and noticed the time, "Why are you here Ranma?" She asked through squinted eyes.

Ranma walked to the kitchen and shut the door, sucking the light out of the room.

Akane held her sides, still on the couch.

She couldn't see him, but knew Ranma was staring at the floor, "So did you kiss him?"

Akane was taken a little aback, "What are you talking about, Ranma?"

She could feel the betrayal in his voice, but that could just be the drink, "C'mon Akane," he coaxed bitterly, "how far did the little twerp get?"

She stared into the darkness which suited her just fine, and stopped him from continuing, "Stop it! I am," Akane fluttered slightly, and became crimson in the face, "a lady!"

Ranma smirked; she knew he did because she knew him.

"And stop smirking!" she commanded, slurring slightly and wavering a bit.

He stopped suddenly and began to speak, "Akane, he's a jerk, I can tell."

"Why?" she seethed, folding her arms and slouching back into the couch, "can you smell your own kind?"

Ranma glared slightly, "Akane, I did all this for your own good, stop being such a baby!"

"Baby?" Akane asked angrily, getting up and stomping towards him, whispering heavily, "Baby? I'm the one that left when you told me to, when everyone hated me, when you hated me, I left and I started here and I wouldn't have had to if it hadn't been for you an your stupidness," Akane motioned towards where she thought Ranma to be, stepping forward a step for emphasis with each stanza, "and your cowardliness," another step, she was getting angrier, "and your meanness," she stepped again, tears coming, "and this whole thing," Akane stepped again, accidentally bumping into him, not thinking where he would be. She did not let this faze her and continued, "This whole thing, everyone I loved hating me, me hating myself," at this point she stared at where she knew his eyes would be, "is **all your fault**!"

The words pounded through him. He could not move so he just stood there, Akane pressed lightly against him. She pointed a finger for emphasis and then fell dramatically into his arms, fast asleep.

Ranma tried to wake up, but it was not a new version of the dream, his worst fears were true; he was to blame.

* * *

A/N: So? What do you think? Sorry for taking so freakin' long! I will be writing new chapters and completely revamping the story because it is misspelled and grammar-terrifying; thanks for reading this far! Please review, and thanks again for reading!


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